The document discusses the importance of usability in government services to enhance citizen engagement and satisfaction. It emphasizes the need for a user-centered design approach, involving users in the design process and understanding their needs and behaviors. Key recommendations include early user involvement, conducting usability testing, and ensuring content is easily accessible and relevant.

1. Usability for Government: improving service delivery Ruth Ellison & Adrian Newton Local Government Web Network Conference 2008 22 August 2008

2. Introduction

3. People Feel People

4. Cameron Adams - Web Design: Print = visual Web = interactive Interaction : behaviour : feelings People

5. People Satisfaction? Relief? Impressed? But probably not happy...

6. People Confusion Frustration Anger

7. Brian Hardy- Accessibility: ” Put the user in control ” People

8. Involve users in design: What do they want? How do they want to do it? People

9. Collaborative design extends beyond the user. Boundaries

10. Governments: Large, conservative bureaucracies Hierarchically structured Functionally organised Boundaries

11. Functional silos distance stakeholders from each other Boundaries

12. Silos reflect functional specialisation. Boundaries

13. Build synergy through cross-functional teaming. Boundaries

14. 80% of Australians now use the internet Stats from Nielsen Online, March 2008 Boundaries

15. 59% of Australians internet users have contacted Government at least once in the past 12 months Stats from Australians’ use of and satisfaction with e-Government Services 2007, AGIMO December 2008 Boundaries

16. User expectations are evolving: 61% locality based information online 60% ask/answer questions by email 29% live chat while browsing 27% personalise government sites 11% access services by mobile Boundaries Source: Demographic Profiling of Victorian Government Website Visitors 2007

17. ” Culture is cultivated behaviour ” Texas A&M University Cultivate behaviour by transmitting experience through learning Culture

18. Adapt approach: Communicate Integrate Iterate Culture

19. Joanna Lewis – IA ” It’s not about Town Hall... ” Adapt your services by engaging your users. Culture

20. Embed usability. Culture

21. What is usability?

22. I'm as confused about this intersection as that sign is.... By sweeneytoad from http://www.flickr.com/photos/sweeneytoad/344506101/ Available under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license

23. Hmmm... By aturkus from http://www.flickr.com/photos/aturkus/395919628/ Available under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license

24. Red route - Road signs on my way to work by Gaetan Lee from http://www.flickr.com/photos/gaetanlee/152102309/ Available under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license

25. “ Usability really just means making sure that something works well ” Steve Krug

26. Lets take a look at paying rates via the internet

27. Meet Jenny

28. Wants to pay her rates online

29. Needs to create an account before she can pay her rates

30. Interrupted by baby Lachlan

31. Pick Sam from school

32. It’s not that simple

33. It’s more than just a simple function It’s now about people

34. Time is precious

35. Time is money

36. What type of user experience do you want your residents to have?

37. We need to design effective and holistic user experiences

38. “ Design is not decoration ” Garr Reynolds

39. Consider the user experience right from the beginning

40. Take a user centred approach

42. Research

43. Flip-flops by theogeo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/theogeo/619457456 Available under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license

44. Who are your users? Flip-flops by Joe Shlabotnik from http://www.flickr.com/photos/joeshlabotnik/305410323/ Available under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license

45. Many different techniques Understand the business Understand the users Understand the content

46. Understanding the business Stakeholder interviews Requirements analysis

47. Understanding the users Contextual enquiry Mom’s desktop.. By striatic aturkus from http://www.flickr.com/photos/striatic/131932697/ Available under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license

48. Understanding the users Surveys

49. Archetypes that represent the main user groups of a site Understanding the users Personas Mark Personal information Age: 20 Location: Sydney suburbs Access internet: from home and uni Internet usage: daily Background Mark is a full time student at Uni of NSW. He’s studying journalism and is particularly interested in citizen generated media. He uses the internet on a daily basis and keeps up with his friends via social networking sites such as Facebook. He lives in a sharehouse with two other people.

50. Short story about a user interacting with a site Understanding the users Scenarios Ordering a new bin Mark is a full time student at Uni of NSW studying journalism . He lives in a sharehouse with two other friends. Mark recently discovered that their rubbish bin was damaged. As it is nearly bin collection day, he and his housemates need to organise for a new bin.

51. “ A mind-numbingly detailed odyssey through your web site ” Jeffrey Veen Understanding the content Content audit

52. User Goals Business Goals What users want to achieve by using your website What the business wants to achieve by releasing the website Designing with users

53. Design

55. Card sorting Designing with users

56. Example only

57. Wireframes Designing with users

58. Visual treatment

59. Evaluate

60. “ Fortune 1000 companies each spend an average of $2 million per year on site redesigns, without knowing if the redesign made the site easier to use. ” Forrester Research

61. Evaluation techniques Expert review Usability testing – formal & guerrilla Standards checking

62. Review design against industry standards, heuristics and current research Examples from Jakob Nielsen: Error prevention Consistency & standards Match between system and the real world Evaluating - Expert review

63. Evaluating – Usability testing

64. Evaluating – Standards checking

65. 10 tips to take away

66. Tip #1 Think about who your users are

67. “ Know thy user, and you are not thy user ” Society for Technical Communication

68. People aren’t going to your website to be entertained

69. People are task focussed

70. Tip #2 Think about how they find information on your site

71. 4 types of information seeking behaviour* Known item Exploratory Don’t know what you need to know Re-finding * Refer to Donna (Maurer) Spencer’s excellent article: http://www.boxesandarrows.com/view/four_modes_of_seeking_information_and_how_to_design_for_them

72. Tip #3 Get users involved early in the design process

73. Tip #4 Usability testing doesn’t have to be expensive (or usability testing on a shoestring)

74. Guerrilla usability testing Need a room Mock-ups of the design Users Set some realistic tasks Observe Analyse

75. Tip #5 Content is key!

76. “ 5% of your website delivers 25% of value ” Gerry McGovern Giraffe - Kruger National Park by Yogi from http://www.flickr.com/photos/yogi/410605111/ Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license

77. Tip #6 Consider how offline communications complement the online world

78. Example Case Study from UseIt.com

79. Tip #7 Always let your user know where they are and what to expect  This way

80. Tip #8 Keep it simple

81. Tip #9 Don’t skip the research

82. Tip #10 Integrated approach to accessibility and usability right from the start

84. Questions?

85. Need more info? Adrian Newton – General Manager Email: [email_address] Phone: 02 8021 8699 Mobile: 0413 875 325 Ruth Ellison – Senior Consultant Email: [email_address] Phone: 02 6280 7834 Mobile: 0423 763 314 Twitter: @ruthellison Find us at www.stamfordinteractive.com.au